The ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad was short-lived, with rockets fired toward southern Israel just eight minutes after it took effect on Sunday evening.
"If the ceasefire will be violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond forcefully," National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Lior Haiat said. "We will not let any factor violate the routine life of the residents of the State of Israel." Israel thanks Egypt for mediating, Haiat said.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said earlier: “We welcome the Egyptian efforts, and we affirm our right to respond to any Israeli aggression."
An Egyptian official source also said Cairo would work to release Islamic Jihad member Bassam al-Saadi, who was arrested with his son-in-law in the West Bank last week.
Islamic Jihad also demanded that Israel halt its security crackdown on the organization’s members, especially in the northern West Bank. Hamas leaders were reported to have pressured their Islamic Jihad allies to end the current fighting with Israel.
The Shin Bet's Ronen Bar told Security Cabinet ministers that Israel had met most of their intended objectives with this current operation.
The Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in Ramallah that P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed the Palestinian envoy to the U.N. to request a special session of the Security Council to stop the latest Israeli military incursion in Gaza. “We want more than a condemnation from the council,” he said.
